Month: November 2018

‘You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.’
Luke 12:40 NIV

We know that one day Jesus is going to come back again. So we need to be ready for Him. He may come tomorrow, in a year, or even after our lifetime – so we need to make sure we’re prepared. Jesus said: ‘You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him’ (v.40 NIV). Jesus compares us waiting for His return to a manager who has been put in charge of the servant’s food allowance while the master goes away.

The Message version sums up the story like this: ‘He is a blessed man if when the master shows up he’s doing his job. But if he says to himself, “The master is certainly taking his time,” begins maltreating the servants and maids, throws parties for his friends, and gets drunk, the master will walk in when he least expects it, give him the thrashing of his life, and put him back in the kitchen peeling potatoes’ (Luke 12:42-46 MSG).

Imagine if we all started living in an un-Christlike way, treating other people badly, disobeying rules, and putting ourselves first. There would be chaos. But, even worse, imagine if we were living like that, and then Jesus showed up. He saw the way we were living. Would He be pleased with how we were behaving? This doesn’t mean we have to be perfect, we all make mistakes, and that’s why God’s grace and mercy are so amazing. But what it does mean is that we need to be trying to live in a way that glorifies Him.

He knows when we are trying to live in a Christlike way. He sees our heart.

Luke 15:11-21
How serious is a lack of patience? We generally write it off as inconsequential. It’s often seen as a weakness rather than a sin—after all, it’s not as bad as adultery, theft, or murder. But have you ever considered what your impatience reveals about your attitude toward God?

When we demonstrate an inability to tolerate delay, we are telling the Lord, “I don’t trust Your timing; mine is better.” Can you see the seriousness of this attitude? Impatience is a display of pride because we are elevating our understanding above that of our all-knowing God.
The prodigal son’s journey toward disaster began with impatience. He wanted his inheritance immediately and was unwilling to wait. After taking matters into his own hands, he faced the following consequences:
He brought sorrow on his family. Likewise, our impatience hurts those we love.
He left the security of home. When we run ahead of God, we often leave behind the voices of reason and wisdom in our life.
He found himself in ruin. God’s blessing accompanies our obedience, so we stand to lose a great deal when we ignore His timing.
He felt unworthy. We don’t experience fellowship with the Lord when impatience keeps us outside of His will.

Although the prodigal son was welcomed home, he could never regain the inheritance he’d lost. We, too, must often live with painful consequences as a result of jumping ahead of God. Let’s remember it’s better to wait patiently until the Lord moves us forward.
Bible in One Year: Acts 10-1

Worry will kill your joy and cause you stress. We tend to expect the worst in life. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, they affect 18.1 percent of the U.S. population.
But worry isn’t just a mental issue. It’s a spiritual one. It’s assuming a responsibility that God never intended for us to have. It’s playing God and trying to control the uncontrollable.

There was once a scientific study on worry that discovered:
40% of our worries never happen
30% of our worries concern the past
12% of our worries are needless worries about our health
10% of our worries are insignificant or petty concerns
8% of our worries are really legitimate concerns
Worry is worthless. It can’t change the past or control the future. It only messes you up right now. It’s an incredible waste of energy. It’s stewing without doing. When we worry about things, they get bigger and bigger.

The Bible says, “Do not worry about anything” (Philippians 4:6 NCV). It’s one of the hardest commands to obey. It’s even more countercultural when you consider where Paul was when he wrote it. He was sitting in a prison waiting for the emperor to execute him.

Worry is something we learn to do. You must practice worry to get good at it. If it is learned, it can also be unlearned.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:34, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (NIV).

Jesus gives us the ultimate antidote to worry. Live one day at a time. God will take care of tomorrow.

What is the connection between suffering and purity for the Christian? These are not terms we usually consider together, but Peter says those who suffer physically cease from sin and no longer live for human lusts. Instead, they live for the will of God. That is not to say we’ll reach a level of sinless perfection but, rather, the power of sin in our lives will be broken.

According to today’s passage, we are engaged in a battle, and Peter says to arm ourselves with the same attitude Christ had in His suffering. Just as He willingly submitted to the Father’s will and went to the cross, so we must accept that suffering is likewise part of God’s will for our life. It’s one of the ways He purifies us and breaks any attachment to our previous sinful desires.

As believers, we are called to live differently from the world around us. This doesn’t mean we’re to be deliberately antagonistic, but our lifestyle should be an example of purity. Others may find this offensive because it exposes their sin, and then they may respond by maligning us in an attempt to make themselves feel better.

Although we want the world to be attracted to Christ by our transformed lives, in reality we may make others uncomfortable or perhaps even antagonistic. This is why so many Christians around the world are being persecuted and even killed for their faith. But every time the church has faced persecution, it has also been purified and made stronger. God never intends for suffering to defeat us. Rather, His purpose is for it to make us holy and effective witnesses for Christ.

“For I have every confidence that nothing — not death, life, heavenly messengers, dark spirits, the present, the future, spiritual powers, height, depth, nor any created thing — can come between us and the love of God revealed in the Anointed, Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39

I turned 62 years old this past summer. I thought I would have a harder time telling people my real age, but as it turns out, saying I’m 62 has become very empowering. I often tell people, “The older I get, the more I’ve learned. And the more I’ve learned, the less I know. But what I do know, I really know.”

This is what I’m confident of at age 62: I know God loves me. There! That’s it. That’s about all I really know for sure.

But, oh my goodness, that knowing changes the lens I use to view every situation, problem, blessing and even the unexpected. It changes the trajectory of my days.

I mean, think about it — if we wake up every morning and truly, deeply believe and trust that God simply loves us, how does that change how we feel about who we are? Would we go through our ordinary days with a few less self-imposed “should-haves”? Would that critical voice in our head saying, “You aren’t enough” be just a little quieter? I think it would. I think I might be more patient in traffic too — just bein’ real!

For instance, I’ll be honest and tell you I might not worry as much if I got my swim workout done or not. I might be less judgmental of myself over some misspoken words I said to my husband or one of my kids. I might be less frantic that I didn’t get all my errands done or phone calls made. I might be a kinder, gentler person if I just sit in the knowing. God loves me. God is for me.

Brennan Manning once said that God doesn’t just love you — He likes you. Whoa! That really got my attention. There are people I love, but fewer people I like. So, it makes my heart happy to think God likes me. I can’t stop thinking about it!

Today’s key verse is one of my very favorites. The word NOTHING is a big word!

“For I have every confidence that nothing — not death, life, heavenly messengers, dark spirits, the present, the future, spiritual powers, height, depth, nor any created thing — can come between us and the love of God revealed in the Anointed, Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

Nothing just means nothing. It doesn’t have an “except for …” attached to it. Nothing. Period! No “buts” “ands” or “except-fors.”

I like to argue with God sometimes, and I’ll say, “But God, I’ve put on some weight, and I feel like I’ve let me and You down. Do You still love me?” And, it’s like I hear Romans 8:38 quietly in my spirit:

“Sandi, NOTHING!” “Yeah, but God …”

“NOTHING!”

“God, were You paying attention? I got a divorce. My kids have been hurt by my choices.”

But God quietly comes alongside my spirit and says, “Baby girl, I know pain. I got you. I love you — NOTHING!”
And now, at 62, I think I finally believe Him. And it’s changing me. It’s changing how I move through my days. There is eternity in every single moment because God is in every single moment.

As I return to Romans 8:38-39, I’m learning to say, “I have every confidence that NOTHING … can come between us and the love of God …” That is the first and most important building block of my faith in Christ.

Friend — I want you to know today how much you are loved by the God of the universe. Right now, in this very moment. Right where you sit or stand. With or without your makeup on. You are so deeply and passionately loved.

‘I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.’
Philippians 3:8 NKJV

Nowhere in the Bible does God say He’s going to send us to safe places to do easy things. But He never leaves us to do challenging things on our own. He says He’ll always be with us (have a read of Hebrews 13:5). But in order to do life with God, and to walk in His ways, we need to be fully committed. Faced with the cross, Jesus prayed the ultimate prayer of commitment: ‘Yet not my will, but yours be done’ (Luke 22:42 NIV).

God’s wanting us to be totally committed to Him. Jesus said: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it’ (Matthew 16:24-25 NIV). This may seem pretty extreme, but God’s looking for ‘all-in’ faith. He’s looking for followers who are willing to stick with Him, no matter what it costs. He’s looking for people who’ll put Him above everything else in their lives.

Paul was one of those kind of followers. In his letter to the Philippians, he wrote: ‘Those things were important to me, but now I think they are worth nothing because of Christ. Not only those things, but I think that all things are worth nothing compared with the greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…I want to know Christ and the power that raised him from the dead. I want to share in his sufferings and become like him in his death’ (3:7-10 NCV). He even went as far as to say ‘to live is Christ and to die is gain’ (1:21 NIV).
Are you prepared to say the same?

In the ancient world, the man who was given charge of the flocks had a challenging job. He had the responsibility of leading the sheep to new pastures and fresh water, defending them from predators, and finding the lost ones when they strayed. But his was a humble job because it was lonely and dangerous. The shepherd lived among the flock and slept across the doorway of the fold to keep the sheep in and the wolves out. This was hard, constant, and thankless work.

Yet Christ sat among His followers and said, “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11; John 10:14). The modern church misses the impact of those words. We have a rustic but rosy view of Jesus as a shepherd. The sovereign God of the universe humbled Himself and got His hands dirty working directly with beings just as errant, willful, and sometimes dumb as sheep.

Remember you read a moment ago that tending the flock required lying across the doorway of the sheep pen? Well, Jesus did exactly that—He became the door for us (John 10:9). He sacrificed His life for the great flock of humanity so that anyone who chooses to believe in Him may enter God’s fold (John 3:16). And once inside, we are provided for, sought when we wander, and protected from enemies.

Jesus sees Himself as mankind’s Shepherd. Thankfully, we are more than just a herd to Him. He knows everything about each one of us—our name, character, and flaws—and loves us despite all of our imperfections. What better way to show love in return than to know His voice and follow wherever it leads us?

Let’s be honest. Sometimes we just don’t see eye to eye with some people in our lives. Showing them love can be quite a challenge, especially when these people are difficult, different, or don’t always show appreciation. But learning to love them anyway is a step closer to understanding the kind of love God has for us.

Have you ever thought about how out of balance our love relationship with God is? He first loved us, the Bible says (1 John 4:19). He made the first move and took the first step. By His grace, He sent Jesus for us to receive by faith. Our love in return, even on our best days, pales in comparison to that kind of love. Yet He loves us anyway. He doesn’t give up on us when we don’t give it back or show appreciation.

In Christ, God loves us anyway.

As we begin to grasp just how wide and long and high and deep the love of Christ really is (Ephesians 3:18), we move closer to being able to love others in the same way God loves us. As we receive God’s love and grow in His truth, God is producing in us a love that has the power to love anyway. And that kind of love is the greatest mark we can leave on the world!

So who is God calling you to love anyway? A friend who is difficult or different? A grumpy family member? A coworker who never seems to appreciate your efforts? Maybe it’s your kids. As moms, we seem to always be giving and not necessarily getting much back in return.

Wherever we find hard-to-love people, may we open our hearts wide to receive God’s love, and then may we be quick to share His love. May He empower us to love anyway!

Lord, I praise You for loving me first. Thank You for not giving up on me, even when I didn’t love You back. Thank You for being patient, kind, and gentle. Pour Your love into my heart through Your Holy Spirit. Change me, and give me the power to love anyway. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Throughout history, people have suffered tremendous injustice and pain at the hands of others. None of us are exempt from conflict, criticism, and mistreatment. The question is, Are we growing more or less like Christ as a result?

Nothing that happens in our lives is an accident. As children of God, we know that everything coming our way is filtered through our Father’s loving, sovereign hands. And He can use whatever we experience to grow us in grace and holiness—yes, even injustice and abuse.

Joseph endured more unfair treatment than most of us can even imagine: He was sold into slavery by his brothers, slandered by Potiphar’s wife, and forgotten in prison. For years, it seemed that no good would ever result, but there was divine purpose in it all. Joseph learned more about God’s ways and was also being trained for the future.

The same is true for each of us. The Lord doesn’t want us to focus on the wrongs done to us and the pain we’ve suffered. Instead, He wants us to keep our eyes fixed on Him. As we read God’s Word, He reveals His ways and purposes, giving us guidance to walk with Him and patience to wait for His timing. And His indwelling Holy Spirit enables us to respond in a godly manner by forgiving those who wrong us.

Think about Joseph’s words to his brothers: “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Gen. 50:20). Remember, that is true in your life also. The pain you carry can be used for good if you’ll forgive your offenders and trust the Lord’s ways.

As Christians, we are called to a high moral standard, yet we may feel as if we’re failing more than succeeding. Perhaps our language isn’t as pure as we know it should be, or we haven’t overcome some of our bad habits. It’s easy to become discouraged if we don’t understand what is hindering our progress.

Transformation begins in the mind, because the way we reason affects how we act. We can’t expect to progress in holiness if we’re undiscerning about what to allow into our thoughts. Paul admonishes us not to be conformed to the world but to be transformed by renewing the mind (Rom. 12:2). We must make an intentional effort to fill our mind with the truths of God’s Word to ensure that we are counteracting the world’s messages.

The influence of others is another avenue by which we can be helped or hindered in our pursuit of holiness. If we associate with people who don’t share our standards, we could be tempted to compromise. Mature believers, on the other hand, can detect obstacles hindering our growth and point out adjustments we need to make. I was greatly impacted by the biographies of godly men like Oswald Chambers, Charles Spurgeon, and Dwight L. Moody. As I read, I would see qualities in their lives that I wanted in my own. These traits formed the basis for many of my prayers.

What kinds of thoughts fill your mind? Are you being influenced by friends, television, or social media more than you are by the Word of God? As the Holy Spirit helps you replace wrong thoughts with godly ones, your behavior will also be transformed.